Anchoring or affixation devices and systems for medical or surgical use are in common use today. The anchors are implanted to aid in holding bone, tissue, ligaments and the like together or in place until healing takes place, or are used temporarily to help perform a procedure necessary for optimum surgical results. When implanted permanently, the anchors can be made from an absorbable material if desired.
Bone and suture anchors are used, for example, during orthopedic surgery to hold fractured bones together, affix ligaments to bones and to aid in determining isometric placement of anterior cruciate ligament replacements. Examples of such anchors are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,537,185, 4,632,100, 4,640,271, 4,723,541 and 4,738,255.
Some positioning and driver mechanisms and systems are known which are used to accurately position and install the bone anchors in place. Examples of such mechanisms and systems are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,990,438, 4,537,185, 4,632,100, 4,723,541 and 4,738,255. Two other the "Statak" mechanism marketed by Zimmer, Inc., Warsaw, IN and the "Isotac" mechanism marketed by Acufex Microsurgical, Inc., Norwood, MA.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved bone or suture anchor for surgical use. It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved driver device for a bone or suture anchor.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a surgical anchor and driver assembly which allows efficient and accurate positioning and placement of a bone or suture anchor during surgery, the anchor being able to be affixed either for permanent or temporary use, and the driver being able to remove the installed anchor if desired.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an anchor and driver assembly in which the bone or suture anchor can be temporary securely affixed to the driver device for installation and removal, and be removed easily from the driver device when desired. It is another object to provide means on the driver device to hold the anchor temporarily in place and prevent it from rotating relative to the driver device.
It is still another object to provide a surgical bone or suture anchor and driver assembly in which sutures holding the anchor in place are recessed or positioned in a way not to obstruct or cause a problem during positioning, installation and/or removal of the anchor.
These and other objects are met by the present invention which will become apparent upon review of the following detailed description of the invention, when taken by itself or in view of the drawings.